Layers were prepared by means of reactive evaporation and rapid thermal annealing, and were tested as diffusion barriers between Al and Si. Rutherford back-scattering spectroscopic analysis of Al/Ti(N)/Ti/Si and Al/Ti(N)/Si multi-layer structures showed that Si did not diffuse out, at sintering temperatures of up to 550C. However, as the temperature was increased beyond 450C, the Al began to react with the TiN. This reaction left less than half of the original TiN thickness intact after a 0.5h anneal at 550C. The Rutherford back-scattering spectrometric results indicated that TiN, when crystallized at a temperature of about 850C, formed a good barrier between Al and Si.

G.Gagnon, J.F.Currie, J.L.Brebner, T.Darwall: Journal of Applied Physics, 1996, 79[10], 7612-20